FOXSports.com NHL power rankings

AJPEREZ

FS Arizona

Any question — not that there was much of one — regarding which team is the best in hockey right now was answered by the
Blackhawks’ victory over the
Sharks last week. Meanwhile, the
Devils again move up the charts and are 19 spots ahead of where they started the season in the FOXSports.com rankings.

1. Blackhawks 10-0 -2 --

Twelve games in, the ’Hawks still haven’t lost in regulation. Almost as impressive: Forward
Patrick Kane has a point in all but one of Chicago’s games this season and is on a five-game goal streak.

Anaheim is certainly one of the surprises so far, and the guy brought in to back up starting goalie
Jonas Hiller, Viktor Fasth, has gone 5-0-0. It’s never a bad thing to have depth in goal, especially with Hiller’s durability issues.

The Sens enter the week 19th in goals per game (2.58), although mediocre scoring is fine as long as you have a goalie playing as well as
Craig Anderson. If the early Vezina Trophy front-runner cools, though, Ottawa will be primed for a freefall.

8. Penguins 8-5 -0 -5

How exactly does a team as stacked as the Pens score a single goal three times already this season, including in their past two games (back-to-back losses to the Devils)?

A hot goalie can hide a lot, including the retirement of one the game’s best defenseman (
Nicklas Lidstrom) and a rash of injuries.
Jimmy Howard did that again with a 45-save performance in a thrilling win over the
Kings on Sunday.

The Preds are about where you expect them to be with their roster: dead last in scoring (1.83 goals per game). Thanks to goalie
Pekka Rinne and the defense, at least they make the most of it.

16. Rangers 6-5 -0 -3

It’s a streak! Ok, it’s two wins in a row, but still new ground for the Rangers. Still not good enough for a team this deep, although
Rick Nash had his second multi-point game of the season in Sunday’s win over Tampa Bay.

Goalie
Mike Smith is coming off his best game of the season, a 33-save performance in a 1-0 shutout of San Jose on Saturday. While the Coyotes have won three of their past four, they need
Shane Doan to produce soon.

Philly begins its longest trip of the season (six games) in Toronto on Monday night. The Flyers have leaned heavily on goalie
Ilya Bryzgalov, who, unlike last season, has been the team’s most consistent performer.

Minnesota snapped a three-game skid with Saturday’s win over Nashville, as winger
Devin Setoguchi scored in OT. Defenseman
Ryan Suter had two assists for his second multi-point game, something the Wild will need more of to get back into contention.

24. Kings 3-5 -2 -5

The high point of the Kings' season — defenseman
Alec Martinez scoring with 53 seconds left to tie the score Sunday against Detroit — lasted all of a few seconds before the Red Wings answered to win 3-2. Not much has gone right for the defending champs.

Alex Ovechkin enters the week with points in four consecutive games. While he’s trending in the right direction, the team’s two goalies (
Michal Neuvirth and Braden Holtby) need to play solidly against teams other than the
Panthers.

27. Islanders 4-6 -1 -13

The Isles are on a four-game skid and have yet to win in February. Coach Jack Capuano is doing what he can to shake the team out of this funk, even sitting assistant captain
Kyle Okposo.

The only thing that’s working for the Flames in a season that's included putting goalie
Miikka Kiprusoff (knee) on injured reserve is the team’s power play. Calgary starts the week ranked fourth (25 percent) and has at least one power play goal in seven games this season.

29. Panthers 4-6 -1 -1

Florida followed a 3-2 shootout victory Thursday over the Flyers with a horrendous display against the Capitals. The 5-0 loss on Saturday showed just how deficient the Panthers are in so many parts of the game.

30. Blue Jackets 3-7 -2 -1

Leave it to Columbus to outshoot a team 40-14 — like it did Sunday against the Oilers — and lose 3-1. That lone Columbus goal came from
RJ Umberger, giving him his first since the 2011-12 regular-season finale.